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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · fork · pit · rule · kid · cue

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cue — a signal
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pit — in a race
  8. kid — child
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cue — a hint
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — government
  17. pit — a hole
  18. band — a music group

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com